Handsome, Traditional Townhome

In certain circles in Washington, D.C., asking the question “Who has the best dining room in the city?” won’t score you the address to a posh new restaurant or even directions to the White House. Instead, it will lead you down the tree-lined streets of Kalorama to the front door of Barbara and Bill Sullivan’s home. There, on the second floor of their handsome townhouse, is a light-filled, paneled room—complete with a painstakingly rendered painted dining table, a hand-stenciled floor, and a dazzling crystal chandelier—that’s more exclusive than any reservation in town. “Almost everyone who’s seen it has fallen in love with it,” Barbara says. “I know I did.”

While the Sullivans like to keep their guest lists small, there’s always space at the table for one person in particular: interior designer Mary Douglas Drysdale. Like the ornate fireplace surround in the entry foyer, Drysdale has become a fixture of the home; she’s been working to restore the classical jewel box to its full potential for more than 20 years. “I worked on the interiors for the previous owners and was brought on again when it was time for its new family to renovate,” she says. “It’s really evolved just as I have.”

Sometimes, however, in order to move forward, one must first go back—all the way back to 1924 when the home was built to the design of local architect Robert O. Scholz. By the time the Sullivans moved in, most of the home’s founding architectural elements had been lost to a host of overambitious remodels, so they turned to Drysdale to help them replace what had been stripped away, encouraging her to reintroduce elements like beautiful crown moldings, friezes, paneling, and wood trim. “We love Mary’s taste and what she had done for the previous owners,” Barbara says. “We even ended up buying a lot of the furniture she had initially selected for them when we first moved in, so we knew that she was the one for the job.”

Designer Mary Douglas Drysdale made the foyer’s original fireplace a focal point by placing an 18th-century gilded overdoor with a bolection mirror on the mantel.

“I’m a tailored person,” Barbara says, “and the house is, too. Every detail has been carefully considered. There’s nothing frilly or fussy.” As much as Drysdale has a soft spot for history and preservation, she’s taken great pleasure in ushering out the furnishings, little by little, that the Sullivans had held onto from the previous owners. “They had saved lots of lovely decorative pieces,” she explains, “but those pieces didn’t feel like they belonged here anymore. The house has grown up. It has a simplicity and a directness to it. It almost doesn’t need anything else.”

There is one exception: the various animal prints that appear on a throw pillow and on the cushions of six antique chairs in the entry foyer. “I’m never giving those up,” says Barbara with a laugh. “I love them. They make people take a second look, and at the end of the day, that’s what I hope people take away with them when they visit us: that they’ve been to a warm, inviting home that offers up a little bit of a surprise in each and every room.”

Drysdale started on the home’s lower level, designing custom millwork and choosing new marble flooring for the sitting area off the formal living room, in order to bring a touch of historic charm to the formerly haphazard, too-modern addition.

A neutral palette allows the focus to remain on the strong, traditional lines of the living room furniture, such as the “Marler” sofa and “Virginia” chair from Hickory Chair, both upholstered in Manuel Canovas fabric.

Drysdale's next step was to turn her attention to the kitchen. While the space had plenty of pretty natural light, it wasn’t taking advantage of it, which made it feel heavy and unwelcoming. Armed with a large stack of paint chips and fabrics, Drysdale sat down with Barbara to find the ideal colors that would lend energy and excitement to the room.

“I must have showed her about 375 options because I needed to find her the perfect shade of blue,” Drysdale recalls. “Barbara’s a wonderful cook, but she spends a lot of time traveling for work. I wanted her to be able to walk into the kitchen and have it feel like a breath of fresh air.” Together, the two decided on a silk checkered fabric for the draperies that would accomplish just that, while also setting the groundwork for the rest of the room’s design.

A generous dose of blue in the Cowtan & Tout checked silk curtains and in the Duralee fabric for the cushions on the Michael Taylor chairs infuses the room with a fresh, calming vibe, as do the Niermann Weeks chandelier and the painted floors by Billet Collins.

The master suite—which makes use of most of the home’s third floor and includes the Sullivans’ bedroom and bath, as well as a study for Bill and an office for Barbara—is calm and cohesive thanks to the creams, grays, and beiges that pervade the spaces. There are no loud colors or busy patterns; the important thing here is that each room fulfills its purpose, whether it’s to allow the couple a place to finish work or indulge in a little relaxation.

Framed photographs by John Brown from Cross MacKenzie Gallery offer the sole bit of color in the homeowners’ sanctuary, joining neutral accessories like the oversize rug from Patterson, Flynn & Martin, as well as bedding and drapery crafted from the same Trapunto fabric in Igloo from Rogers & Goffigon.

Artist Maryanne Pollock’s contemporary painting over the fireplace adds an unexpected edge to Bill Sullivan’s personal escape off the master bedroom, which is otherwise as traditional as they come, with gray paneled walls, a Rose Tarlow sabre leg chair, and an R. Jones sofa.